by Apryl Baker
“The music you were playing earlier…”
“Did you like it?” he asks before I can finish my sentence. “‘Eyes on Fire’. It’s my favorite song to create to. I play it whenever I paint, or in your case, do body art.”
The yummy deliciousness in my mouth turns to sandpaper. The song I love to listen to when I create my own art is the exact same one he uses? I’ve been thinking just how much alike Silas and I are and this is another nail in my coffin. It can’t be just a coincidence…can it?
“Are you all right?” he asks, concerned.
I nod and guzzle down half my pop. This can’t be more than a coincidence. It can’t be.
“Now about that demon-proofing,” he says while I guzzle. “What if I could offer you something even more precious than the ability to heal?”
“Silas, I am not removing it,” I tell him, my voice a little shaky, much to my chagrin. That song really threw me for a loop.
“You don’t even know what I have to offer,” he says slyly. “I promise it’s worth your while.”
“There is absolutely nothing you can offer me that would ever make me change my mind.”
“Not even if I told you about your brother?”
My head snaps up and I stare into his smiling face.
“You’re lying. My father would have told me…”
“Your father has no idea of the boy,” Silas says. “He doesn’t belong to Ezekiel. The only person who can tell you about him besides me is your mother, and she’s in no shape to do that. She’s been catatonic for the last seven years, and can’t shed light on the matter.”
I have a brother?
Silas’s smile widens. “Think about it, my darling girl, and we’ll talk soon.”
He snaps his fingers and I come awake, staring at the ceiling tiles in my purple room.
I have a brother.
Chapter Fifteen
“What do you mean you can hear things?” someone argues.
I groan and snuggle deeper into the comforters. Who is in my room and why are they daring to disturb me? I just got back to sleep.
“Around her bed,” Mary informs someone. “There are things whispering, moaning, and making generally unpleasant sounds.”
Go away, I think to myself. Just let me sleep.
“I don’t hear anything, Mary.”
Caleb. Why is Caleb in my room?
“Just because Mr. Big Bad Ghost Hunter can’t hear it isn’t my problem. The fact remains something is not right!” Mary’s voice rises with each word.
Ohhh, Mary sounds a little irritated. She was all ‘Caleb is awesome’ yesterday. Wonder what he did to piss her off?
Caleb sighs loudly enough for me to hear it even buried under the mountain of blankets. I really should tell him she’s not crazy, but if I give in and sit up, then I have to face everything that I learned from Silas. I’m not ready to do that yet. I’ve already panicked enough for one day. I need sleep.
“Good one, Mary,” Eli laughs. “Give him what for.”
Eli’s here, too? Freaking awesome.
“I already apologized,” Caleb snaps. “Can’t you two just let it go?”
“Hey, I’m not the one who told her she needed to let the people who knew what they were doing handle things and to let the big bad ghost hunter fix it.”
I wince. Ouch. I’d have decked Caleb for that one. Mary does know what she’s talking about. She traveled the Ghost Plain. It’s just outside of the human perception, bordering The Between.
“Well, it’s true,” Caleb says, exasperated. “She’s ordinary…she doesn’t know just how much she can get hurt…”
Ordinary? My eyes widen. Caleb didn’t!
“Really?” Mary asks, her voice going soft. “I’m ordinary and I don’t know how much I can get hurt? I survived the torture of a crazy lady for three weeks. There are scars all over my body. I can’t even walk without limping because she broke both my legs, my ankle, and snapped the tendons in my left foot. I know pain more than you ever will.”
I hear stomping and a door-slam. She’s definitely pissed. Not that I blame her. I might deck Caleb myself just on principle.
“Man, she’s way past pissed at you,” Eli says, no longer laughing. “She’s gone through stuff neither of us could ever even comprehend.”
“I wasn’t thinking,” Caleb sighs. “I should try to apologize again.”
“Uh, no. Leave her be,” Eli says. “She needs to calm down and seeing you will only upset her more.”
Good call. Mary might physically hurt Caleb right now and I wouldn’t blame her a bit.
“Why don’t you go get the tattoo kit out of the truck?” Eli suggests. “When Mattie wakes up, we can go ahead and get her inked. After what happened last time, I don’t want to take any chances.”
“You talk to her about the bond yet?” Caleb asks.
Bond? What are they talking about? I frown, thinking. Is this what Silas was talking about?
“No.” Eli sounds frustrated. “I just don’t know how to bring it up. I need to tell her, but Mattie is the kind of girl who’ll blink once, and then run like hell.”
“True, but at least you’ll always be able to find her.” Caleb laughs.
What nonsense is this and why does Caleb think it’s funny? I hate not knowing what’s going on and they both are purposely keeping me in the dark! If I let them know I’m awake, though, they’ll shut up. Playing possum might actually get me some answers.
This isn’t funny,” Eli growls. “I really like her, but I’m afraid she’ll think the stupid bond means my feelings for her aren’t real, that they’re only there because of it.”
“It’s a fair question,” Caleb points out. “Could that be the case?”
It was Eli’s turn to sigh loudly. “I’ve spent almost every minute for days thinking about that.”
“And?”
“And I liked her before the bond was cemented. Even when she blacked my eye, I liked her. The bond happened later, when I needed to protect her the most. My feelings started before then. The bond only enhanced them.”
I think my heart just stuttered. A grin spreads across my face.
“When are you going to bring her over to the house?” Caleb asks. “You know Mom wants to meet her. She’s not even being subtle. Didn’t I hear her order you this morning to bring her over?”
His mother wants to meet me? My hands start to sweat. I don’t do very well meeting parents. Family environments make me nervous.
Eli laughs. “Mom’s only pissed because Dad already met Mattie. I guess I’ll bring her over this weekend if she’s up for it. I get the feeling my girl is one who runs from anything remotely close to commitment. I need to show her she’s worth the effort.”
“Commitment?” Caleb’s voice sounds a bit skeptical and I nod in agreement. No way are we ready for any kind of commitment. We don’t even know each other that well. “You just met the girl and you’re already talking about commitment?”
“You know what I mean.” Eli’s voice is a little rough. “I’m not going to declare my undying love for her, only that I want the chance to get to know her, to see if these feelings I have go anywhere.”
“Elijah, you sound like you’re growing up.” There’s a hint of pride in Caleb’s voice.
“Bite your tongue,” Eli says with an edge in his voice. “Besides, I have bigger issues at the moment.”
The bond. What kind of bond is he talking about? Silas said I belonged to the boy, meaning Eli, and that I needed to talk to him. Listening to them talk makes me more determined to get to the bottom of it. If it’s freaking Eli out, chances are it’ll make me run and I don’t want to do that.
I do have feelings for him, but I wouldn’t say love, either. It’s not been long enough for that. Strangely, I have deeper feelings for Eli than I ever did for Jake Owens. Jake had made me reconsider a lot of things. I thought I was falling hard for the boy because we’d dated for months. I’ve only known Eli, what, a couple wee
ks? Yet the thought of running from him makes my stomach physically hurt. There’s definitely something going on there.
“Well, if you don’t want to talk about the bond, then maybe tell her about the file Dad’s division has on her father’s family. You bring a copy of it?”
“Yeah, she needs to know that at least,” Eli says. “I wish there was some way we could keep her away from Crane, but he has legal rights. He’s worse than we thought. He might hurt her, Caleb.”
I knew deep down my father wasn’t what he seemed, but to think that he’d hurt me had never crossed my mind. I don’t want to believe that.
“Dad said he would try to keep Mattie here with Mary and her mom. He’s not sure if he can stop Crane from taking her.”
That’s it. I sat up. “Why would you stop my dad from taking me?” I know in my bones my father loves me and I want the chance to know him. They can’t take that from me. I won’t let them.
“You were listening?” Eli is outraged.
“Of course I was listening,” I mutter. “It’s my room. You two decided to have your deep and heartfelt discussion in here. Answer the question. Why do I need to stay away from my dad?”
“It’ll be easier if you read his file,” Caleb says. “I’ll grab it when I get the ink kit.”
Dang it! I forgot. How do I tell them I don’t need the tattoo since I already have one?
My phone rings, saving me for a minute. It’s Dan. “Hey,” I answer.
“You up for a day at the lake?” he asks, sounding a bit strained.
“The lake?” I ask.
“Yeah. I thought we could look for clues. I want to talk to Lacey without her mom around. I think she knows more than she let on when I interviewed her before.”
Lacey. The best friend of the girl who tried to drown me. Addison.
“Are you bringing Meg?” I ask cautiously. I know I promised to try, but it’s still a little too soon to hold me to it.
“No. She’s refusing to be seen until the swelling goes down.” Dan sighs. “It’ll be a Meg-free day. Just you and me, kid. We’ll hang out and play detectives on Lake Norman.”
I smile. That sounds awesome. I wanted to talk to Dan about the stuff I learned from Silas, anyway. Plus it’ll get me away from Eli for a while. I need to process what I’d heard. “Sounds great. Give me a half hour. I need to shower.”
“See ya in a bit, Squirt!”
I toss my phone on the bed and stand, almost forgetting the slim circle of The Between around my bed until the cold bites into my feet. I hop right back on the bed. Both brothers give me a curious stare.
“I have a door to The Between open,” I explain. “It was the only way I knew to keep the ghosts away from me.” I look down and concentrate…it takes less than a minute to close it. This is getting much easier. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
“Wait, there really were things whispering?” Caleb asks, dumbfounded.
“Duh, you idiot,” I sneer. “Mary does know what she’s talking about. She can hear ghosts if she concentrates.”
“What?” Caleb gives me a wide-eyed stare. “Why didn’t we hear anything?”
I just roll my eyes. I am so not gonna get into the whole out-of-body experience stuff. At least not before Doc explains it to me. “Bottom line is you owe Mary a BIG apology,” I tell Caleb. “Now, if you two will get out, I need a shower. Things to do and all that.”
“Did you say you were going to the lake?” Eli asks, his expression hopeful. Uh, no, not gonna happen. Not with you, anyway.
“Yeah, Dan and I are going,” I say and proceed to my closet. “So if you guys can show yourselves out?” Hopefully, they’ll take my not-so-subtle hint to leave. I really need to be away from Eli for a little bit.
“How much did you hear?” Eli asks, immediately suspicious.
“All of it.” Head down, I dig out a pair of blue denim capris and red t-shirt.
“You’re running.” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair.
“Yup.” Face averted, I reach the bathroom door.
“Wait.” He grabs my arm, making me look up. “Can I at least explain?”
“No, not right now, Eli.” I sigh. “I need time alone.”
“Alone with my brother, you mean,” he growls, eyes narrowed.
“Dan and I are friends, Eli, so I’m going to tell you the same thing I told him. Deal with it.” I jerk my arm out of his grasp and stomp into the bathroom. Why do boys get so insanely jealous? I turn on the shower to muffle the sound of pounding on the bathroom door.
Twenty minutes later, I’m showered and my hair is kinda dry. I figure by the time we make the lake, it’ll be good to go. The curls would take the better part of an hour to tame, anyway. At least Eli and Caleb aren’t in my room. Maybe they left without too much fuss. I head for the living room.
They’re both laid out on the couch when I go downstairs. Great, I was hoping for a clean getaway. Doesn’t look like that’s happening. “I thought you two were leaving?” I ask.
“We still need to ink you,” Caleb answers.
“No, it’s all good.” I wave him off. “Dan will be here any second.”
“Mattie, you need that tattoo,” Caleb starts, but I cut him off.
“No, actually, I don’t. It’s already taken care of.” I turn to head out the door, but Eli stops me.
“Taken care of?” Eli asks softly and I wince at the accusation in his voice. If he only knew.
“Look, it’s not a big deal,” I tell him.
“What did you do, Hilda?” he asks suspiciously.
A car horn honks outside. I almost fall down in relief at Dan’s timely arrival. Besides, this isn’t the time to have a Silas argument. “There’s Dan, gotta go!” I’m out the door before either of them can say anything and dive head-first into the truck. “Drive!” I order Dan. He gives me a confused brow-lift but pulls out. As we leave, I sneak a look to the right.
Eli is standing on the porch, staring. Part of me feels bad for running away from him, but another part of me is patting myself on the back.
Running is what I do best.
Chapter Sixteen
“What was that all about?” Dan asks, flipping the radio off.
He looks tired today, his eyes full of pain. It must be really bad for him at home. I feel another twinge of guilt, but push it aside. He’s right. I have to stop blaming myself for his mother’s mistakes.
“I just needed to get away from Eli,” I mutter and flip the temperature control in the truck from cold to warm.
“What? Why?” Dan asks, his expression murderous. “Did he do something to you?”
“No, no, nothing like that!” I hurry to explain. “Chill. He didn’t do anything to me, unless you count keeping secrets from me.”
“Secrets?”
“Can we go to your apartment first?” I ask. “I need to tell you about some stuff and I have a feeling Eli and Caleb will show up at the lake.”
“Sure.” Dan switches lanes and then turns around at the next available spot. After ten minutes, we reach his apartment complex. Once inside, I find my fuzzy flannel throw and huddle up on the couch. I can’t ever get warm unless Eli’s around. This can’t be normal.
Dan makes me a cup of hot chocolate before he flops down next to me. “Okay, spill it, Squirt. What’s going on? Why were you so eager to get away from Eli?”
“Eli is the least of my worries right now,” I tell him, my voice trembling. I hate it when that happens. “Silas paid me another visit last night.”
“Silas? I thought Caleb demon-proofed the house?”
“Oh, he did and Silas is pissed he can’t just come over whenever he wants, but my dreams are something he has unfettered access to.”
“Well, hell, Mattie, I don’t know how to protect you from your dreams.” Dan sighs, aggravated.
“You can’t,” I tell him. “Silas wanted to make a deal…”
“You didn’t?” he asks, horrified.
; “Of course not!” I smack him. “I’m not stupid…but I was tempted.”
“There is nothing worth…”
“He said I have a brother.”
That shuts Officer Dan up. He stares at me, his mouth hanging open for a moment. Exactly how I feel. “Your father would have told you if you had a brother.”
I shake my head. “No, Silas said Zeke doesn’t know about him, that only my mom does. She’s not in any shape to tell me, though.”
“What do you mean?”
“Zeke said he had to have her committed because she’d lost it from grief after I was taken. Silas said she’s catatonic. It fits with what Zeke told me about her. If that’s true, then I might never know who he is, Dan.”
“Let me guess, Silas offered to tell you who he is for…for what exactly?”
“He wanted me to take down the demon-proofing so he can just magically appear whenever he wants.”
“Mattie,” he says after a long moment. “Demons lie—”
“I don’t think he is,” I interrupt. “Silas has never lied to me, not once. He doesn’t need to. He simply gives people what they want most.”
“Why is he stalking you?” Dan gets up and starts to pace. “This can’t be normal, Mattie. Was that all he wanted? To try and bargain with you?”
“Well, no…”
“What do you mean, no?” Dan asks, his voice sharp. He stops pacing and gives me his patented Officer Dan stare. I have the insane urge to squirm. I refrain, but just barely.
“Well, you remember Caleb saying he was going to come up with a tattoo so the ghosts can’t make me feel their deaths?”
Dan nods slowly.
“Silas saw Caleb’s design and told me it was rubbish. He inked me himself.”
“You let a demon give you a tattoo?” Dan explodes.
I cringe. “NO! I was unconscious at the time. I didn’t wake up until after he was done.” I frown. “Wait, that didn’t sound right.”
The death glare I get from Dan is enough to singe the hair off my head. “Did you show it to Caleb?”